Should you invite kids to your wedding?

This is one question that every bride and groom to be should ask themselves as they plan their wedding and create their guest list.

Most couples already have friends and family members who have children so this can be a tough decision. Children have a tendency to get bored and fussy quite easily, something that can turn your wedding into a noisy affair.  

If you do decide that you want to include children in your big celebration, you’ll want to make sure that they’re happy and entertained at all times. Here are a few fun ideas for keeping those little bodies busy during your wedding.

Create an epic kids table
Setting up a few kids tables with various activities is one of the best ways to keep smaller guests busy for hours, especially during the speeches. Add games, puzzles, activity and coloring books to the tables so that the kids can choose something that appeals to them. You could also add a few goodie bags to the table that contain treats, bubbles or a small toy.

Include them in the wedding activities
Children really enjoy helping out and being a part of the day’s activities so give them an important job to do such as handing out pamphlets. If they feel like they’re helping out, they won’t get a chance to be bored. Another cute idea is to give each child a disposable camera so they can snap some photos on the day.

Let them spend time outdoors
If the weather is warm on the day, set up a few outdoor games such as Jenga or activities such as hula-hoops. If the children are a little older, you can also set up a crafts table that they can use to create props for a photo booth or a wedding memento for their parents. Our outdoor patio would be great for this!

Set up a kids room
If you want to keep children entertained and away from the main festivities, set up a cool kids room or cave that contains beanbags, tables, movies and activities that they can enjoy. You can repurpose one of our getting ready suites for this!

1. Learn to say no
Planning a wedding is exciting and fun but it can also be one of the busiest times of your life. If you don’t want to end up being a nervous wreck a week before your big day, learn to prioritize and say no to any new commitments that would take away from other important wedding-related tasks. It’s really okay to say no every now and then.

2. Become the queen of organization
The more organized you are, the better your wedding planning experience will be. Keep a digital copy of all of your important documents, contracts, and information in one file on your computer or in google docs so that you can easily refer back to them when you need to. If you want to be able to bring important documents along to meetings with vendors, you can always create a wedding binder that contains all of the information you need. Plus, it makes for a great backup copy too.

3. Have a little fun
There’s no need for you to be a frazzled bride-to-be. Take out your calendar and schedule a few fun days in-between all of your planning. Make fun and time with friends a priority in the weeks leading up to your wedding. Sometimes it’s important to come back down to earth and remember why you’re choosing to marry your partner. Trying to control every single aspect of your day is only going to leave you wishing it was over. Go out and enjoy an afternoon with the girls where you don’t talk about the wedding at all.

4. Move your body
Exercise does wonders when you’ve got a lot on your plate. Sometimes you just need to take a breather and focus on your health. This doesn’t mean that you need to schedule an hour at the gym every day either. If you’re strapped for time, a simple 15-20 minute walk or yoga session will make all the difference to your stress and energy levels.

5. Just breathe
Take a complete timeout from wedding planning as often as you need to. Every bride deserves a relaxing soak in the tub or a heavenly hot stone massage to relieve some of the tension she might be feeling. (If you're a Main Street bride you'll actually have a spa gift certificate you can use!) It can be difficult to make time to simply relax but do your best to find the time, even if it’s just 30 minutes a week.